Random Characters

The following characters are a sampling of the men and women strewn around Liberty City you will randomly meet during your journey. Generally, you'll encounter them after certain missions and other requirements are fulfilled, which differs from character to character. However, they aren't going anywhere, so as a result we recommend that you wait until you complete the story mode. Then, you can quickly drive around to each character to do their mission or missions. The reason these characters are different from main story characters is that your time with them is incredibly abbreviated, and the missions are usually of the mindless variety. Keep in mind that our list of characters below isn't exhaustive, but rather shows you a sampling of some of the characters you will meet. Often, characters will be met more than once at different times and at different places, and you'll build a sort of perverse rapport with them. So, enjoy our list below, but remember!—it's not all-inclusive.

Brian (First Encounter)

You'll first encounter Brian near Roman's original cab stand on Iroquois Avenue in western Broker. When you run into him standing idle on the street corner, he'll immediately begin talking crap to Niko, insulting him. This is only a conversation, so you don't have to actually do anything. What's more, the arrogant Brian will hand you a hundred dollar bill just to show you how awesome he is. Thanks, idiot!

Mel (Only Encounter)

If you have a good memory, you'll remember that early on in the game, a guy got plastered at the bar called Comrades in Broker, and fell all over the place. Well, that guy's name is Mel, and if you head to where Masterson Street and Mohawk Avenue run into each other in Broker, you'll find him standing on the street. Believe it or not, Mel is straight-up now—no more booze and drugs. But, he has a debt to pay off and is afraid to go alone. Naturally, he coercively asks Niko to go with him, and Niko agrees.

Your destination is off of Soldier's Plaza, where Sundance Street intersects with the traffic circle surrounding the plaza (the GPS will get you there once Mel gets into Niko's vehicle). When you arrive, hostilities will immediately erupt. It appears Mel was a bit of a violent, idiotic drunk and pissed a lot of people off. Three thugs pull guns on Niko (Mel cowardly stands on the far side of the street). Kill them all, and then go back and pick up Mel. He'll hand over $500 for your trouble, but you'll need to bring him back to Masterson and Mohawk for the short mission to conclude.

Badman (Only Encounter)

Remember Badman? He's Little Jacob's good friend, and is completely incomprehensible in his speaking, even more so than Little Jacob himself. You can find him chilling out on Dukes Boulevard in between Morris Street and Harrison Street. When you arrive, he'll talk to you, but even with subtitles you're going to have a hard time understanding exactly what it is he's asking you or telling you. Regardless, one thing is clear—some Russian dudes are giving him a hard time, and thus it's time to clean that mess up.

Grab a car and wait for Badman to get in. Your destination is a tight alleyway off of Carrollton Street in Dukes, in between Cleves Avenue and Saratoga Avenue. Once you arrive, you have two realistic options. The first is to take your vehicle into the tight alleyway and use it as a weapon, driving down the alley to kill, maim or otherwise injure the five enemies waiting for Badman here. Otherwise, you can walk in with Badman with guns blazing. Explosives work on your foes especially well here because there's little place to run. Chucking a Molotov Cocktail or grenade, for instance, will incinerate your foes rather easily. Once they're all dead, Badman will thank Niko and go on his way.

Ilyena (Only Encounter)

Faustin had a wife as you may remember, and her name was Ilyena. She was a nice Russian woman who had to deal on a daily basis with an abusive husband and an out-of-control daughter, but she hung in there. But now, her husband is dead and her daughter is hanging out with the wrong crowd again. You can find Ilyena on the boardwalk along the water on the southern end of Broker, right where the boardwalk runs into the leftmost unnamed street off of Crockett Avenue. When you speak with her, she'll fill you in. Niko has a soft spot for her, so he agrees to get the guy turning her daughter into a stripper off of her back.

When the conversation with Ilyena concludes, grab a vehicle and follow the GPS directions on your HUD. They will lead you to an alleyway off of Dillon Street in between Tuscarora Avenue and Seneca Avenue in Broker. When you arrive, the scumbag boyfriend will be nonchalantly hanging out at the mouth of the alleyway. Ilyena asked you not to be violent, so Niko simply threatens him. But when he runs off after talking a load of crap to Niko, Niko has no choice but to pull a gun on him and shoot him. So, when he runs, be sure to train a gun on him and take him out. Once the man is slain, this mission concludes.

Pathos (First Encounter)

On Denver-Exeter Avenue in Algonquin, a major road that splits the island in half, you can find a man named Pathos (look near Star Junction, in between Kunzite Street and Lorimar Street). Pathos is an independent rapper trying to sell his wares on the street. After a rather humorous conversation with Niko, however, some haters come by and start talking some (really funny) crap to Pathos. Pathos goes off to fight them thereafter.

Pathos is a really nice guy, so Niko agrees to help him out. The game will prompt you to go and assist him. Thankfully, there are only two guys to deal with, and neither are armed with anything more than their fists, so you should have no issues here. Unfortunately, flagrant firearm use in the middle of Star Junction is almost certainly going to attract unwanted police attention, so after helping Pathos out, be sure to lose your wanted level!

Cherise (Only Encounter)

Head to the northernmost section of Algonquin, where a familiar face can be found (if you spared her life during the game's main missions, that is). This is Cherise, Dwayne's ex-girlfriend. She'll be hanging out outside of Cluckin' Bell on the corner of Exeter Avenue and Wardite Street, and she'll recognize Niko as soon as you get close enough. Unfortunately for her, though, Niko doesn't recognize her at first. But when he does, the two get talking, and it appears that Niko needs to teach Cherise's new boyfriend a lesson in how to treat women. Why? Well, because he's hitting her.

Upon telling you not to kill him, Cherise sends you on your way. Her boyfriend is located at the apartment complex off of Frankfort Avenue at the far northern end of the borough. So, grab a car, let Cherise get in, and drive up there via your GPS coordinates on the HUD. When you arrive, Cherise will stay behind as Niko goes forward towards the red dot on his HUD, representing her deadbeat boyfriend. He has too much to say, though, and although Cherise asked Niko not to kill him, you're going to have to do so anyway. When you report back to Cherise, however, she doesn't seem all that upset about it. She promises to do better from now on and then goes on her way.

Jeff (First Encounter)

Jeff is a guy you can find at the northeast section of Algonquin, hanging out on the corner of Bismarck Avenue and Uranium Street. Upon arrival, Jeff will immediately start freaking out like he even knows Niko (but make no mistake about it, he doesn't). It seems his wife is cheating on him and he's privy to this knowledge. By the time he gets himself together, Niko attempts to go off on his way only to find himself once again intercepted by Jeff, who asks him to follow his wife and her boy toy and snap some pictures for him. It's not immediately clear if he wants these pictures for perverted reasons or as evidence, but either way he offers money. A job's a job, right?

Jeff's wife isn't going too fast so there's really nothing to worry about as far as losing her. The car will appear as a red dot on your HUD in case you're in danger of losing her, but the fact is this almost certainly won't happen (in fact, you'll probably have to actively not go fast just so you don't bump the car). You'll eventually arrive at a multi-floored restaurant on Bismarck Avenue. Head on inside and use the stairs on your right to go to the second floor. Here, you'll find Jeff's wife and the unknown male. Pull out your phone and take a picture of the two, and then send it to Jeff. Thereafter, head outside. After a brief phone conversation, this initial Jeff mission concludes.

Marnie (First Encounter)

Marnie is fiending. She needs a fix, and she needs it bad. You can find this mess of a woman sitting on a bench in a small park off of Liberty Lane on the west side of Algonquin. She'll do whatever it takes to get her fix of "junk" apparently, including presenting Niko with a plethora of perverse offers to get the money she needs to buy her drugs. But when Niko just offers to give her money for nothing, she lets him know that she really needs the drugs more than the money, and tells him that there's a place they can go to get the goods. Niko, of course, reluctantly agrees.

Unfortunately for you, there's no real benefit in completing this mission (other than the fact that it gets completionists one step closer to 100%). In fact, it's going to cost you $500 by the time you arrive at your destination, since Marnie needs not only a ride to her drug dealer, but the money to purchase the goods from him as well. The dealer isn't located in Algonquin, unfortunately, so you'll need to drive westward to Alderney (likely taking the Booth Tunnel to get there). Once in Alderney, all you have to do is bring her to an alleyway off of Roebuck Road. From there, she'll abscond with your money and the mission will end, but worry not, for you'll be seeing her again real soon.

Hossan (Only Encounter)

On Frankfort Street in Algonquin, Niko will run into an old friend named Hossan. Apparently, these two go way back and haven't seen one another since their time back in the old country. Hossan is keeping busy selling knockoff handbags on the street corner, and the two men begin to catch up with one another. When Hossan receives a phone call from an unknown party, he asks Niko to take a walk with him while he goes and picks up some cash owed to him. And just like that, you'll be on your way.

Castle Drive is near your location, and that's where Hossan needs to be taken to collect his cash. But upon arriving, the guy who owes him money balks because Hossan isn't a legal immigrant to the country. After brutally head-butting Hossan, the man then makes off in his sports car. Wait for Hossan to jump back into your car and give the man chase, bumping him when you can and taking shots at him with a gun of your choice while driving. The latter is going to attract police attention, especially in well-to-do Algonquin, so be ready for that. When you finally get his car to crash, kill him when he gets out, and grab the money he drops (which belongs to Hossan). Then, drive Hossan to a new destination as seen on your HUD. For your help, he'll fork over $500. Not bad!

Jeff (Second Encounter)

Remember that crazy guy Jeff, the guy who was losing it on the side of the street as his wife apparently cheated on him with another man? Well, yeah, Jeff's gone ahead and lost it completely. You'll get a phone call from him randomly after you initially meet him and help him out. He's killed his wife, and he needs you to dispose of the body. Niko is confused how a man like Jeff can lose it so easily, but he agrees to meet up with him a parking garage in Algonquin off of Topaz Street (bordering the northern end of Middle Park). From wherever you are when you accept his phone call, you're going to have to head to that location. The GPS will take you there, so no worries.

After arriving and having a rather interesting conversation, Niko will name his price ($5,000) and take Jeff's car from him to dispose of it and his wife's body. The location in which you have to dispose of the body, thankfully, is really close by—due north of the parking garage on Grummer Road, the northernmost road in Algonquin. However, if any police cars are in your vicinity as you drive (and they most likely will be), they'll give you a one star wanted level as you go north (and the route will disappear from your GPS). Just continue to head north if and when this happens, since a one star wanted rating is easy to lose. When you arrive at the designated area, drive the vehicle as fast as you can towards the ramp leading into the water. Bail out at the last second to make sure you don't go down with the car, but remember! You can still bail out and land in the water yourself, just as long as you're not in the car when it touches down.